\
                            (S
 Brownfields  2005
 Grant  Fact  Sheet
          Rio Dell, CA
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George
W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the
Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The City of Rio Dell was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Rio Dell is a small city
of 3,207 residents located on the banks of the Eel River
in northern California. The city's economy is based on
the timber industry which has declined over the past
two decades. The decline in the timber industry and the
impact of the rerouting of a major highway that
diverted traffic away from the local businesses in the
center of the city, have left Rio Dell with numerous
blighted and potentially contaminated properties in  the
town center and residential neighborhoods. Since the
1970s, Rio Dell consistently has been the most eco-
nomically disadvantaged small municipality in Humboldt
County. More than 23 percent of city residents live in
  Assessment Grant
   $200,000 for petroleum

   EPA has selected the City of Rio Dell for a
   brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be
   used to compile a comprehensive inventory of
   contaminated sites, fund a community involvement
   program, perform Phase I and II environmental
   site assessments, and develop cleanup and
   redevelopment plans. A range of petroleum-
   contaminated sites around the city will be investi-
   gated.
   Contacts
  For further information, including specific grant
  contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
  news and events, and publications and links, visit
  the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
  brownfields.

  EPA Region 9 Brownfields Team
  415-972-3188
  http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/
  index.html

  Grant Recipient: City of Rio Dell, CA
  707-764-3532

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
poverty and the unemployment rate is nearly 14
percent. The blighted and idled petroleum sites around
the city are eyesores, magnets for vandalism and other
undesirable behavior, and pose a threat of contaminant
exposure especially for children. A number of proper-
ties also may threaten the water quality in the Eel
River. Assessment of these brownfields properties
represents the first step in re-establishing economic
activity, a key factor that will help prevent future
brownfields in Rio Dell.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-05-143
                         May 2005
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

-------